My 2011 LX has a battery management system that seems pretty accurate, which was a big surprise to me.

Many years ago, I started getting a warning message of something like "change batt." I measured voltages, convinced myself everything was good with the battery and charging system, learned on here how to reset the monitoring system, etc. to make the message go away. Then within 6 months the battery truly was unable to hold a real charge and needed replacement. I was very impressed and surprised, conlcuding that this system had correctly predicted the future based on voltage trends or whatever it does.

So, assuming they still have the same system on the 2016, I expect the car will warn you with a few months to spare when your battery starts to go. Given the variability in how long batteries seem to last, no I would not do a pre-emptive replacement unless there are other factors.

BTW - I have also found that the battery management system can be thrown off when swapping good batteries between cars, which is something I do sometimes as a debugging step. So in those cases, reset is required, and the warning messages deserve to be ignored.

 

When I'm out west for the winter, I take my van in the the local Honda dealer for an oil change and they do their "thing" under the hood for it's once a year dealer visit. ( I do the rest at home) They once alerted me that the battery was weak..... I took it to Walmart and replaced it under the warranty I had on it.
Find someone with a "load tester" which puts the battery under a load at that will tell you it's condition.

 

I am over 5 years with the OEM battery and it is still testing good. I put it on a maintainer every so often though, so maybe that helps.

 

Perhaps the NC heat is too hard on batteries also, with our summer temps over 90 from May to August.
I'm thinking maybe I should go ahead and change my 2016 Elite battery before summer arrives?

Alabama heat here, I replace batteries every 3 years regardless. Way better to do on your schedule in your garage than getting a call from your wife. For both of our vehicles that take conventional batteries in size 24F , I use the NAPA Legend Premium 24F from the Napa stores. Top rated by consumers reports battery life testing in 2019. Made by East Penn, same as Deka and AC Delco in this size.

On our 2011, the OEM original battery lasted 3 years, second battery from Advance lasted 3.5 years, died coincident with alternator, not sure which was the cause. Those two incidents got me to change to 3 year interval for both Odys and 06 Pilot. Also, consider replacing alternator about 140k miles if it hasnt died. Both 06 Pilot and 11 Odys lost alternators between 125k and 150k, very similar J35 engines.

 

6 years in my OEM Vette battery and that's in AZ where the garage hits 99 in the summer. It's on a tender when I'm gone.

The Honda dealer tested out my 3 year old replacement Walmart battery on Friday.... all good!

 

It's on a tender when I'm gone.

That's the secret to a long lived battery... but hard to do on a daily driver.

-Charlie

 

Change battery every 4 years. Use Costco. Not worth the inconvenience of "dead" battery. Which usually happens at the "worst" time. Thought about purchasing "lithium" portable battery pack, but then I have to remember to charge it every few months.

 

I have a Costco AGM currently in the van, the dash cam in parking mode really beats down the battery it cuts out at 12,4 volts.
I got 3 years out of the last one, and Costco gave a full refund.

When this one goes, I am going to get one of these.
No need for a battery tender unless you're not driving the vehicle for 6+ months.

EnerSys | Global Leader in Stored Energy & Power Solutions

Discover EnerSys, the global leader in stored energy solutions, delivering innovative batteries, chargers, and power systems for industrial and mission-critical applications.

www.northstarbattery.com

 

I always thought 4-5 years was the interval to change. Most of my batteries died around 5 years old in my experience. In any case, I always keep a portable battery in my trunk in case it does die unexpectedly.

 

I always keep a portable battery in my trunk in case it does die unexpectedly.

Do you mean a jumper box? It will start a car with a good but discharged battery, but it won't start a car with a dead battery.

 

I pre-emptively changed our battery at four years, eight months. We had a very serious cold snap coming and I wasn't willing to risk having the battery strand my wife and kids somewhere. I was getting signs that the battery was weakening though. The van always started but even when it was parked inside our insulated attached garage (where the temperature rarely drops very far below freezing), the cranking started to slow down from what we used to get - it was noticeable.

 

As many others have mentioned in this thread already, I also change preemptively to avoid being stranded or otherwise hassled/delayed. I perform the swap at the expiration of the battery warranty, even though it would still be under the "pro-rated" coverage window.

 

Got one from Walmart with the 5 years warranty after it left us out during my birthday 4 years ago. Got to the restaurant fine, went we got everyone in the van...it didn't do anything, got a jump by the guy sent by the insurance and was able to reach Walmart a replacement. It finally started to show signs of weakness at the 3 years + mark. Took it to Walmart and got a free replacement. South Florida heat ain't easy on these batteries.

 

my '99 Mazda Miata still has the original battery, the car is over 21 years old. So batteries can last. Although this one will probably finally need to be replaced this year as I'm noticing slow cranking. Great made in Japan car and made in Japan battery (Panasonic). I know this doesn't compare to a modern car loaded with electronics like our Odysseys. Get the battery load tested if it eases your mind, dealers usually do this even when bringing in the car for just an oil change so that might be a low cost way to get it analyzed.

 

Our last 2 batteries on our 2010 LX have failed at 2.5 years each. First replacement was from AutoZone. Second was from Firestone. Interestingly enough, my truck's AutoZone battery is still good at 6+ years, and that includes sitting without a battery tender with only a once-a-month ride around the block while I was deployed for a year.

 

I went thru the same thing with my old 2011 Ody. Replaced the battery with a larger capacity Deka battery. We were doing a lot of traveling and I did not want to be stranded again so I purchased a NOCO Boost Plus GB40 1000 Amp 12 volt UltraSafe Portable Lithium Car Batter Jump Starter. I have never had to use it on the old Ody, but I still carry it all the time in the new to me 2016 Ody. Have used it to help out others several times and it has always got them started. You have to leave it hooked to their battery for about 5 minutes before they attempt to start their car. Have also used it to "jump" my garden tractor. I was getting about 4 years on the old ody before the batteries bit the dust. I think they would last a lot longer if we refrained from operating the rear door openers when the car was not running! I think one of the battery packs are a must have if you do a lot of traveling. They take up very little room, fitting right under a seat.

 

OP here - well it happened. 2016 Elite that is 3.5 years old and the battery just died in my garage. Went to Advance Auto Parts and just replaced it. Lesson learned, I'm just replacing every 3 years. With 90 degree summers and humidity and all the electric junk on the car these days, it just doesn't last.

Maybe if I put it on a tender every now and then like some of you.

 

I did the 2 amp with the iCharger on my previous AGM battery every 6 months, still only lasted 3 years.
Winter is what kills batteries here.

 

The honda battery last 10-12 months on my 2017 TE...

 

YES, replace the OEM battery before it leaves you stranded. I have a Foxwell BT-705, which is a decent battery tester at $98 but there are other options out there. It tests battery actual CCA, state of health, state of charge, your charging system, and your starting system, all without draining your battery or creating a lot of heat like the old-fashioned tests would do. I trended the battery on our 2019 Ody (see my post, "New Battery = More Power?") and when it got to an actual CCA of about 70% of original I got a new one.

Honda's new car warranty only covers the original battery for 24 months full replacement and after that you are on your own.

I used to be big on Honda's 100-month battery but no more because the st(d)ealer now treats even an in-warranty replacement as a profit center, demanding that they test it while in the car and (trying to) charge a fee to change out the old battery.

Costco's warranty is hard to beat and the batteries are reasonably priced. I have those in two of my 4 cars. But those are Johnson batteries which are just "OK" and Johnson and Exide (crap) make most all of the batteries now being sold. I went with a NAPA (Legend Premium) battery for the 2019 Ody, which are made by East Penn in the USA. Pasco is another USA-made battery brand that a gearhead friend of mine likes a lot and they are reasonably priced. Much higher-priced is the "Odyssey" brand, which are great but pricey, and the name tie-in is fun. Good luck.

 

I used to be big on Honda's 100-month battery but no more because the st(d)ealer now treats even an in-warranty replacement as a profit center, demanding that they test it while in the car and (trying to) charge a fee to change out the old battery.

It varies by dealership. My local Honda dealership had no problem replacing my battery under warranty last year when I brought it in. They tested it, confirmed it had failed, and brought me a new one to take home.

 

A lot of you need to elaborate when you mention car batteries. E.g. "my truck battery lasted 6-yrs witgout charging." Well, which truck? Ford, Toyota, Honda?...

And even then, it depends on your climate, and we're trying keep the discussion about Honda Odyssey's.

Yes, batteries for this car don't last for some reason our other cars last long time but this one...A few days after we bought it new it already needed a new battery, then every year, new battery,...Under warranty yes didn't have to pay but it's annoying to get randomly stranded, only to findout the only place that'll lend you a battery is Costco (only one that'll accepts battery returns and give you your full $ back) And now that Costco has AGM batteries, i highly recommend going with them otherwise go Walmart Supercenter.
The only time we've gotten more than a year with a battery is with an Energizer AGM 24F battery from Sams Club. We had it for about 3-yrs until it finally gave out yesterday, no maintenance, charging...It's a 3-yr warranty battery. Two different people tried giving us a jump start unsuccessfully. It wasn't until USAA's Roadside Assistance finally showed-up after hours of waiting that they're were able to start it. We didn't even know if it needed replacement but we went to Sams Club before closing, we lost our receipt but they found us in their database. I haggled the guy, he had to call his manager, to give us $ back for $ difference between our AGM battery and the non-AGM they had in-stock, since they were out of the AGM. They installed it, i had to haggle the guy again to get him to spray the red stuff, the corrosion inhibitor on the terminals.
I went to my mechanic this morning, he checked the car and the alternator is fine, so it definately was just the battery.
The car has had it's alternator replaced, and that's what led us to getting the AGM battery.

The summers here in Tucson, AZ go-up to 118 F. And it's a daily city driver, lots of stop-lights. Avg. speed is 35mph. Dry dusty conditions. 2400' above sea level.

I ordered a solid state capacitor for rapid-charginf our dead battery as well 4-gauge solid copper jumpers, nice and long from Amazon, as Scotty Kilmer recommended.

Any tips? We should've gotten this 4-yr Free Replacement AGM 24F battery from Walmart Supercenter that was in-stock but they were closed and we gotta pickup family from the airport on Wednesday.

"The Best Car Jump Starter in the World and Why" (6-min)

How to Charge & Test AGM Batteries (🤔7-min)

"This New Jump Starter Changes Everything" (10-min)

 

Leon, sounds like there is a fair amount of parasitic draw. And when the battery goes does many times, alternator works harder and gets taxed. We had an issue with Lexus parasitic draw and had similar issues you describe (2 battery warranty replacements 3 mos apart in 1 yr). I recently acquired that car (now, new-to-me car seems still has that problem... new batt 12.44V down to 12.38 in 4 days).
You either need to check yourself or get the car tested. At the minimum our standard batteries last close to date+3yr (AAA or Costco) in all our vehicles. For many folks here, 4-6yr. Many had good luck with Everlast (walmart). There is a discussion thread in the 3rd gen on batteries.

 

Yeah i think from now on im gonna take it once a month and during oil changes battery charged and checked.
Even just accessing the battery is a pain with this car because its covered. Sorry but ever since we got this car we've realized the Toyota Sienna is way better and more reliable.

 

Costco Las Vegas lets me return their battery before the 3rd year warranty expires for a full refund with out question. Then get a new one with a new warranty again. I just need to remember the exp. date. Funny thing, its one of their tire guys that told me to do this long long time ago.